Unfogging the Future
by SuNRisESuNSeT96
Summary: One small pebble can cause a thousand ripples. One small difference can change the course of destiny. When Albus Dumbledore when to Hog's Head to interview a teacher for the Professor of Divination position he didnt expect a seventeen-year-old girl who claimed to have the Sight. He expected even less to learn the key to the downfall of Voldemort. One-shot collection


**Unfogging the Future**

**Summary:** Harry's first lesson in Divination with Professor Dalia Hightower is so different, yet at the same time, not at all from his class with Professor Sybil Trelawney. The tealeaves don't lie but their interpretation can change from one person to another. And what is with everyone and their obsession with Sirius Black?

**Word count: **4006

**Warnings: **OC

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but my OC Dalia Hightower

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**Of Tealeaves and Questions**

**IF** Harry was to be honest, he didn't quite believe in Divination or the ability to tell the future. Even after over two years in the Magical world, there was, a small part of him that still clung to the Muggle believes. That small part was adamant that the ability to foretell any future event simply couldn't and didn't exist. The main (and only) reason he had even signed up for Divination was because Ron had and, if the worst came to pass, at least he wouldn't be failing the subject on his own (after all, failing a subject while Hermione excelled in it could hardly be called a pleasant experience). Of course, he could only fail if they (and by them meaning himself, Ron and Hermione) managed to find the bloody classroom and at present that seemed rather unlikely.

"I think is that way," said Hermione, pointing at the dimly lit right corridor. Despite having spent months in the old castle and gotten in more trouble than anyone else (besides the Weasley twins, but surpassing them was an impossible goal), neither knew how to get to the Divination classroom (Classroom 6C) on the Sixth floor. All they'd managed to get from the twins was a vague "East Wing, Sixth floor, you'll find it." and that had been it. No help at all!

"No, it's not. We came from there like three minutes ago. I remember that painting over there," countered Ron, pointing to a painting of a small room, which would have been completely empty if not for the old-looking table, covered with a raunchy cloth, and a chair, missing half of its back, covered with spider webs. The entire thing gave of an air of poverty and sadness.

"That means we have been moving in circles the entire time!" cried Hermione distraught. "We are going to be late!" the two boys rolled their eyes at her obvious worry over something so trivial (for them anyway).

"I recon we take the other way then," proposed Harry.

"We just came from there!"

"Well, we ought to have missed some turn then," said Harry irately. He was quickly growing tired of this. He had more important things to worry about rather than missing a (potentially) useless class after all.

"You are looking for the Divination classroom?" asked a melodic voice from behind them. The three instantly turned around to see a wizard, dressed in clothing from centuries ago, standing in the previously unoccupied painting. "Don't worry, it happens every year," said he with a charming smile revealing two rolls of perfectly white teeth. His front teeth were a little crocked, which only added more charm to his youthful face. "Dalia finds it amusing, I believe," he winked at them with a conspiracy smile. "My name is Lord Stefon, second of that name, of the Most Ancient and Daring House of Yaxley," Stefon introduced himself with a bow. "Now, if you were to go back to the entrance of the wing and turn left, you should be able to find the classroom easily. It has a big 6C on the door."

The three thanked the Lord and headed to the right direction. With proper instructions it was, indeed, easy to find the previously elusive room. There was a 6C on the door and a "_Divination. Professor: D. Hightower_".

"How late do you think we are?" asked Hermione worriedly.

"'bout five minutes," answered Ron after a quick check of his wristwatch.

"Do you think the Professor will be mad?"

"You worry too much Hermione," the redhead opened the door and entered the room, the other two following soon after.

The room Harry found himself in looked more like a prospering teashop than a regular classroom. It was big and light with windows covering the entire wall in front of him. There were about a dozen and a half tables with three or two comfortable-looking chairs, all of them facing the west of the room (or so Harry thought, he wasn't all that good with directions). There was a mahogany desk there (on a slight platform) with a stack of paper on its left side, about the only thing out of place in the room, and a glass cabinet with crystal bolls, decks of cards, books and several ornaments Harry couldn't name. On the other side of the room stood another cabinet, this one smaller and all objects in it were worth decidedly less than the others. Next to the cabinet, near the windows, was a cupboard with two silver kettles placed on top of it. The wall facing the corridor had two pairs of shelves on the two sides of the door, a huge pin board covered with photos from all over the world and a black board.

The rest of their classmates were already seated in pairs or trees talking amongst each other. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed their example with a simultaneous sigh of relief, and sat next to Parvati and Lavender's table.

No sooner, had they done this and the door swung open again to reveal the slender figure of their Divination teacher. Dalia Hightower was probably the most famous Professor in the school. She had waist-length light brown hair, which was put up in a complicated-looking hairdo, and light blue eyes. Her robes were, as usual, of the highest quality and, considering the girls' gossiping, taken right from some fashion magazine. She didn't look more than twenty-five years of age, though, if rumors were to be believed, she was about thirty. Despite her popularity among the male population of Hogwarts (and more than a few girls), the class consisted on no more than nineteen students. It was most likely due to the alien and wooly nature of the subject rather than the teacher herself.

"I see you are all here," said the Professor brightly instead of a greeting. "Can someone be so kind as to give me the time?"

"Seven past nine," answered Ron the second she stopped talking. Hermione rolled her eyes at the display muttering 'boys!' under her nose and Harry had to stifle a snort with his hand at the speed Ron's ears flushed.

"Just as I saw in my crystal boll last night," Professor Hightower carried on, without noticing this little exchange. As there was no reaction to her proclamation (besides Hermione's disbelieving snort), Hightower rolled her eyes. "It was joke. Honestly!"

"Anyway," said she, waving her left hand, and walked to her desk, upon which, she promptly sat on and crossed her (very nice and long) legs. "As I am sure you probably know by now, I am Dalia Hightower and I am to be your Divination teacher for the foreseeable future, which means the next three years before someone asks," out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Lavender lowering her hand, blushing. "Divination is probably one of the hardest Arts to learn and if you don't already have the Sight there is little I can to help you See what has yet to happen. That is to say, it doesn't meant there is nothing I can teach you. On the contrary, despite popular belief that Divination deals only with the future, there is a branch which concentrates on Seeing things as they are happening right now. It is very complicated, of course, and I will not be teaching you scrying until the end of your O.W.E. year or maybe even after it. It all depends on your progress.

"Now, I suppose most of you, if not all, picked this class with the idea of an easy passing. Allow me to dissuade you of this particular notion," by this point, her voice had gotten from bright and cheerful to having an almost steel feeling to it. "You **will** be diligent in your homework and **will** keep the make-up predictions to minimum. I do not expect all of you to be able to make even one true prediction by the end of the year but that does not mean you can turn Divination to a joke. You will bring your books to class and take notes unless I have previously specified not to. Am I making myself clear?"

Harry found himself nodding along with the rest of the class. Next to him, Hermione shifted in her seat and he saw her wearing the same expression she had on their first Potions class when Snape had called them 'dunderheads'.

"Good," said Professor Hightower with another bright smile. "Now, a little about the curriculum before we move on to today's work. I will be rotating history of Divination and the way this particular branch of magic has developed over the years in the world and in Britain, theory of Magic, I assure you, you will need to understand how Magic works before you can make predictions, theoretical application of the different types of Divination and actual practical work. It is quite possible that well be doing two things at once, since the material is not exactly easy. On these," said she and pointed at the stack of papers on her left, "I have written, in detail, what exactly we will be studying and a list of reference books you may use in your essays.

"This year we will mostly do fortune-telling, as it is the easiest and most accessible branch of all. Tealeaves' patterns, palm reading, the crystal boll and maybe even the Tarot cards. Again, it depends on the progress you make. So, any questions?" predictably, Hermione's hand was already in the air before the Professor had finished her question.

"Yes, ah… Hermione Granger, was it?"

"Yes," brown curls bobbed. "Professor, I was wondering, why would we need to study Magical theory?" Harry and, judging by the murmurs of agreement around them, the rest of the class had been asking themselves the same question. The young teacher smiled.

"Every year someone asks. Well, there really isn't a short answer besides 'because I say so'. You see, first you must understand what Magic is before you can utilize it to its fullest potential. Like learning to craw before learning to walk. What you are studying now are the basics. You learn incantations, memorize wand movements and think you understand Magic. You don't, not really, not at all. You are merely brushing along the it's surface barley touching it, let alone feeling it," Professor Hightower left her position on her desk and started walking around the room. "Magic is so much more than what you know now. Divination does not follow strict rules and is always open to interpretation. To be able to understand it correctly you must feel the Magic, the way it is woven into every living thing, every being in this world. How it connects us all. To almost See those Paths and Threads it creates around us. To know how to feel this you must know what Magic is. Where to search it, so you can touch it, grab it and hold it. To let it rearrange the tea leaves and show you a glimpse into the future.

"Magic is not some tangible thing that you can define and put in a box of your own doing. Magic just **is**, always has and always will be. The moment you understand this and let it flow through you, you will be able to truly see the world for that beautiful place it is. The future is constantly in motion. What you do today can affect you for years, can define you, whether you like it or not. It is nearly impossible to predict something with one hundred percent certainty, but someone with the Sight can get a glimpse of what will be, regardless of any changes you make.

"However, there are laws it obeys to. Things that cannot be changed, no matter what. Laws that only those who study the High Arts ever feel the need to learn. You may have chosen Divination believing it to be an easy course, but I assure you it is not. Does that answer your question, Miss Granger?" by the end of her speech, every single person's attention was fixed on her. Harry had almost forgotten how to breathe. Professor Hightower spoke with passion and fever, not once stumbling on her words. It was impossible not to listen to her.

Hermione could only nod. She looked slightly flushed and with a determinate expression.

"Um, Professor Hightower?" asked Lavender.

"Yes. Miss Lavender Brown?" again, she guessed the name.

"Yes. Do you have the Sight? Can you make a prediction?" for a split second, Professor Hightower looked as if she would like nothing more than to roll her eyes or sigh in exasperation but it was gone so fast that Harry had to wonder whether he had imagined that.

"I do happen to have the Sight but it is not as simple. I am hardly a Muggle fortune-teller," the class laughed.

"Please Professor," pleaded Parvati from her seat next to Lavender.

"Well…" her eyes became unfocused for a moment, as if she was looking at something that Harry couldn't see. "There will be bout of flu this February, but then again that happens almost every year. Someone will leave this class around Easter, not particularly uncommon either. Let me See," her crystal blue eyes focused on Parvati, "you'll have some trouble with red-headed man… noting overly serious, mostly irritation," Parvati cast a look at Ron and quickly turned her head around. The Professor's gaze shifted to Lavender, who looked positively gleeful to have a prediction made for her. "You'll be receiving bad news on a Friday, ah, October the 16th,"the girl paled.

"Now class, any other questions? No? Good. Now, for today you will have to divide into two, drink some tea and have your partner read your tealeaves. If you would switch places around," Hermione cast one look at Harry and Ron before moving to sit with Lavender, who Parvati had left so she can partner up with Padma Patil. After everyone was seated, Professor Hightower waved her wand once, the cupboard behind them opened, and cups and saucers soared into the air before gently placing themselves in front of the students. The two kettles followed soon after and poured hot water into the cups.

"Now, after you've drank your tea, turn the cup tree times to the left, place it on the saucer and wait until the last drop of water has drained before switching cups with your partner. Feel free to ask me for help at any time. This is the first lesson in your books, pages five and six."

For several minutes, the room was quiet save for the sound of sipping and the occasional _cling_ sound made when a cup was placed on a saucer. Harry and Ron drank their hot tea as quickly as possible (after the first sip Harry surrendered to the inevitable fate of not feeling his mouth for a week). Being on a clock, they didn't have the time to enjoy or even recognize the bled and its quality.

As soon as they were ready, they turned the cups and waited until the last drop of water was gone and only the sludge remained. Then they switched cups and opened the books on the specified pages.

"All is fine until now," said Ron. "Will you start or shall I?" Harry shrugged his shoulders and looked at the cup in his hands. He turned it around a little so he can look if at a different angle and 'feel the Magic'.

"I See… a wet brown hillock," he declared at last, which made Ron stifle a laugh. "I recon it will rain," he carried on laughing.

"I understand you don't know what you have to do," said Professor Hightower at that moment as she was walking around. "The point of this exercise is for you to see what you'll be doing and have fun. You don't know nearly enough to do anything but guess, so use your imagination."

"Professor?" Tracy Davis of Slytherin called the Professor and she went to answer some other question.

"There is this thing that looks like a cross," said Harry looking at something in the cup cross-eyed, "Which is a… give me a moment…. a sign of trouble and delay or even death. Sorry mate. Then that one over here looks a bit like a sun, which is… great happiness. So… you'll suffer or die but be very happy about it?"

"Okay," said Ron after he managed to stop laughing as he was peering into Harry's cup, "My turn," he frowned concentrating. "There is this lump which looks like a pot hat… so you'll work at the Ministry, I recon. And then this one looks like an acorn, so you will have… ahh… improvement in health, continued health, strength, and good fortune," read Ron from the textbook. "Great, so you can lend me some money. And that looks like some animal, a hippo, no, a sheep…"

"Do you want some help?" asked Professor Hightower who had made her way to them at some time. Her eyes were twinkling with hidden humor. At least they weren't the only one having fun, though Harry.

Ron handed over the cup without protest and Professor Hightower took one look at it before whistling softly. Everyone's attention was on them.

"That's a particularly nasty cup here. There is the falcon, which usually signifies a persistent enemy, fiend…"

"Well that's obvious," Hermione whispered not so quietly. Harry and Ron stared at her with a mix of surprise and awe. She blushed when the Professor attention turned to her but held her cheek high. "Everyone knows about Harry and You-Know-Who, it's not exactly a secret."

"True," Hightower looked at the cup again. "But do try to use Voldemort or the Dark Lord in my presence," there were gasps all around them, but she ignored them. "There is a swatter, which typically means an attack."

"I thought it was a pot hat," admitted Ron simply and the Professor shot him an amused smile.

"Then there is the skull, which means danger. You have some really bad luck, Heir Potter and then here is the…" here she suddenly cut off, staring intensely at some random patch of wet tealeaves.

"What is it Professor?" asked Dean curiously. "What do you see?"

After several seconds, which seemed like hours to Harry, she spoke two words. "The Grim."

The reaction was instantaneous. Neville's face changed color several times before settling for a yellowish, similar to Ron's who had his hand on his mouth as if to prevent a gasp, not unlike most of the class. Harry, not understanding what was happening, tuned to look at Hermione for help who could only look back with a helpless expression. Dean Thomas shrugged his shoulders and Lavender only blinked.

"A what?" asked Harry somewhat dreading the answer.

"The Grim," repeated Professor Hightower with stronger voice now. She placed the cup on the table and looked straight at his eyes. Blue clashed green. "This is the omen for death, a huge ghostly black dog," like the one on the cover of that book at the bookstore, Harry remembered. The dog, which was a dead ringer to the one he had seen on Magnolia Street after he left the Dursleys.

Before someone could look at the cup, however, she took it back and looked at it again. "It doesn't necessarily mean death, of course. This is more of a superstition. Years back, I met a person who had the Grim staking him. He's still alive and fine," said she and turned the one more time. "On the other hand, there is a basket which means addition to the family," said Hightower in attempt to diffuse the tension. It didn't quite work out.

"Professor?" asked Lavender who had only now removed the hand from her mouth and her eyes still looked a bit teary. "Does it really mean death?"

"As I said, not necessarily. Now, I believe the class is over, so I want each of you to take a copy of the curriculum on my desk and for the next time I want you to write a twenty-inch essay on the topic "What is Future?" okay?"

Everyone set out to gather their things, all the while throwing not so discreet glances at him. He was about to head out first, so he wouldn't have to endure more staring, when a gentle hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Do stay behind, will you?" asked the Professor and waved her wand to gather all the teacups and saucers on the cupboard. Ron and Hermione were the last ones to leave after he gave them an encouraging nod.

Professor Hightower went to her desk and sat on the chair. Harry followed her, with his backpack thrown over one shoulder and took the last copy of the curriculum, written in a neat handwriting. She propped up her chin on her knuckles and looked at him.

"I am sorry for taking up your time, Heir Potter," said she rather formally

"Its fine," answered Harry not really knowing what else to say and a little thrown off by the 'Heir Potter' bit.

"While I do not want you to worry unnecessary," she began with a sigh, "the Grim **is** typically an omen of death."

"But you said…"

"… that I saw him 'stalking' someone. And it is true, I did. And he is alive," her blue eyes clashed with his one more time, "that person was Sirius Black. I met him on a ball in Prague when I was thirteen, he was fifteen at the time," there was a nostalgic smile on her face and something else he could put his finger on. Harry didn't like the way this conversation was going. "I don't know what that might mean, but I have to advise you to be more careful."

"I will," promised Harry, wondering why people kept bringing up Black for no reason.

As if she had read his thoughts, she asked him, "What do you know about Sirius Back?"

"Not much," admitted Harry, "just that he killed twelve Muggle and some wizard and was Voldemort's right hand an," his respect for Professor Hightower rose again when she didn't flinch at the name. Her eyes narrowed at his admission before she sighed again and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"While I literally cannot tell you much," and for some reason she didn't seem particularly happy with that fact, "I can tell you that at the time a met Sirius Black he was quite the talk of the society, because of his constant travels through Europe instead of staying with his family. There was this rumor that the Black family and he were at odds because he was sorted in Gryffindor," Harry couldn't believe that she was saying. Voldemort's most loyal follower was from Gryffindor. However, why was Professor Hightower telling him this? "Year 1971 if I am not mistaken," continued the Divination Professor. "Coincidently, your father was at the same ball."

"I don't understand," she smiled.

"You are clever, Heir Potter, I believe you can figure it out," she smiled, "and if not you, your friend," she took a piece of parchment and scribbled something on it. "Give this to your next teacher if you are late. Have a nice day," Harry said a quick 'goodbye' and walked to the door. His hand was on the handle and he was about to leave when she called his name again. "Sirius Black, while reckless, was one of the best duelers at that time. Please keep in mind that Azkaban could only have made him more dangerous," why was everyone so sure he would go after some crazed murderer Harry had yet to understand.

"Of course, Professor."

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**IN** the following hours, Harry would share the strange conversation between himself and Professor Hightower with his friends and Hermione would set off to the library to check out old yearbooks. It the days to come the things she would find out would change his life forever…


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